“Seriously, Megan, she’s like a supermodel!”
At that, Megan burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. This was all too ludicrous.
When she got control of herself again, she said, “Sorry, Molls. I’m just finding it so weird that you’re here drooling over Vanessa. Of all the ways I expected my birthday to play out, this wasn’t one of them.”
She saw Molly blush and look down at her shoes. Megan came over to the couch and sat down, pulling her sister down with her.
“So, why are you actually here, Molls?”
Molly took a couple of breaths before meeting Megan’s eyes.
“You’re not wrong about Mom and Dad,” she said.
Not a news flash.
“But you are wrong about me,” Molly continued.
Megan blinked.
“I know how ridiculous Mom and Dad are,” Molly went on. “The truth is…The truth is I’m ashamed of them, in fact.”
Megan gasped and reached out to take both Molly’s hands in her own.
“Oh, Molly…”
“I know you’ve thought the worst of me,” Molly said, looking down at their joined hands. “That I was just like them, but I’m not, I swear. I’ve just always wanted to try to be like a mediator, I guess, someone to bridge the divide between you and them and I guess I fucked it up because instead I made it seem like I was always on their side.”
Megan felt her eyes watering. Her bottom lip started trembling.
Molly met Megan’s eyes again.
“But the way they reacted today when you told them you were gay…I couldn’t let that slide.” She chuckled drily. “You missed me telling them off after you left. I gave them an earful.”
“I bet it was epic,” Megan said, sniffling. A hot tear ran down her cheek.
“It was. Totally.” Molly reached out and wiped Megan’s tear away. “I mean, how dare they treat you like that. Their own daughter!”
Megan couldn’t wait any longer. She pulled Molly into a tight embrace, both sisters letting their tears run freely.
“I love you, Molls,” Megan sobbed.
“I love you, dumdum,” Molly sobbed back. “And I have no problem with you being a lesbian.” She pulled back enough to look Megan in the face. “I’ve always known, by the way.”
“You did not!” Megan said, swatting her sister’s arm.
“Did too! I’m sure Mom and Dad didn’t pick up on the little things like I did.”
Megan wiped her cheeks and then cocked an eyebrow.
“Little things like what? Like how I never brought a man over to meet them?”
Molly shook her head. She reached into her purse and extracted a pack of tissues. She handed one to Megan and then used the other to dab at her eyes.
“No,” she said. “It was…the way I’d catch you looking at other women. I mean, women are always looking at other women, it’s what we do. But usually it’s because we comparing ourselves to them or we like their outfits or their shoes. But when you did it…Like, if we were at a restaurant and our waitress was pretty. Or if we were out shopping and a cute saleswoman was helping us. You’d check her out.”
“Damn! And I thought I was being subtle.”
Molly chewed her bottom lip, thinking.